GENERAL:

The USS INDIANA was one of the newest American battleships in 1898.
She took part in the destruction of the Spanish Fleet at the Battle
of Santiago off Cuba on July 3, one of the two major naval engagements
of the war.

BACKGROUND:

The USS INDIANA was one of the new fleet of battleships promoted a special
board created in 1890 to recommend the manner in which to update the U.S.
Navy so that it could defend adequately against the imperial world powers,
as well as by the nations of South America (several of which had larger
vessels than any in the U.S. Navy). The board realized the need for battleships
with a long-range cruising capability. However, many members of the United
States Congress were in favor of Isolationism, and opposed long-range battleships
as they were obviously not intended strictly for coastal defense. To assuage
fears of the Isolationists, the new class of vessels were called "Sea-going
coast-line Battleships". The name, an all-covering oxymoron, was thought
to be particularly brilliant and useful by Theodore Roosevelt
after he became Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Navy. Three ships were
authorized for construction, INDIANA BB-1, MASSACHUSETTS
BB-2, and OREGON BB-3, making the INDIANA
one of the United States' first true battleships. The three ships were
authorized on June 30, 1890.

At the outbreak of the Spanish-American War, USS INDIANA formed part
of Admiral Sampson's Squadron which sailed to
intercept Admiral Cervera's squadron, known to
be en route to the Caribbean from Spain. INDIANA took part in bombardment
of San Juan on May 12, 1898. Sampson then returned to Key West and resumed
the blockade of Havana. When it was confirmed that Cervera
was at Santiago de Cuba, Sampson's fleet joined
Schley there on June 1 and the Admiral took command
of the blockade. After the landing of U.S. Army units for an assault on
Santiago, Cervera was ordered by Governor-General
Blanco to break out of the harbor. His gallant dash out of Santiago on
July 1898 led to the Battle of Santiago and
the destruction of Cervera's entire command. INDIANA did not join in the
initial chase westward because of her extreme eastern position on the blockade,
but she was near the harbor entrance when the Spanish Torpedo Boat Destroyers
PLUTON
and FUROR emerged. In a short time both ships were destroyed by the
guns of INDIANA and other ships. Meanwhile the other Spanish vessels were
sunk or run ashore.

INDIANA returned to her peacetime pattern of training exercises and
fleet maneuvers after the war, and made practice cruises for midshipmen
of the Naval Academy before decommissioning in December, 1903. She was
recommissioned for training in January, 1906, and again decommissioned
in May, 1914. The entry of the United States led INDIANA to being recommissioned
as a gun training ship on May 24, 1917. She was decommissioned for the
last time on January 31, 1919. INDIANA was sunk as bombing target on November
1, 1920, and the wreck was sold for scrapping in March, 1924.

ADVANTAGES/DISADVANTAGES:

The greatest advantage of this class of battleships was the capacity
of the coal bunkers, allowing the ships to cross the ocean without recoaling.
They were the first American vessels that combined this capability with
heavy armor and armament, a great advantage in times of war.

The armor thickness and size of the main battery exceeded any that
on any other ship in the US fleet, including the newer classes of battleships.

One disadvantage of INDIANA and her sisters was a relativly low freeboard,
which made the guns difficult to operate in heavy seas.

The main gun mountings were not centralized, so when the guns were
aimed to the side, the ship would submerge farther on the side of the vessel
to which the guns were aimed. This limited the elevation the guns could
attain. Also, this resulted in the main armor belt being lower one side
than designed and higher on the other when the guns were being aimed in
this manner. The situation was eventaully rectified by adding counter-balances
to the rear of the turrets. The mountings themselves continued to be a
source of mechanical difficulty.

The ship rolled excessively until retrofitted with bilge keels.

As was typical for ships of this time period, coal bunkers were placed
along the exterior hull of the ship to act as additional armor protecting
the magazines. The proximity of the coal bunkers to the magazines created
a danger that could result in the loss of the vessel. Spontaneous combustion
of coal dust was not unusual, and a coal bunker fire could ignite an adjacent
magazine.

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